The Rainy Day Killer Read Online Free PDF

glanced at his reflection in a large glass display case.
    “ Sorry to hear that.”
    “I thought we had an understanding, but she started seeing some guy she works with. She was always bitching about my hours, that I cancel out on stuff, blah blah blah.”
    “So you dumped her.”
    “She dumped me. On Saturday.”
    Karen grinned up at him. “You’re just too pretty for them, Horvath. They hate the competition.”
    “Hey!” Horvath looked hurt. “What a thing to say.”
    “ Don’t sweat it. They’ll be kicking down your door, guaranteed, as soon as word spreads you’re back in play. Right? Am I right?”
    Horvath opened the office door and gestured her inside, his lips peeling back in a fake grin.
    They signed the visitors’ log on the counter and were shown into the inner office of Mrs. Audrey Humphries, a tall, slender African-American woman in her late thirties. They sat down in the chairs she offered and Karen once again took the lead, explaining the reason for their visit and their need to ask questions about Theresa Olsen. Her identity had not yet been made public, she explained, but it would be released to the media during a press conference at three o’clock this afternoon.
    As she listened, Humphries slowly leaned forward, covering her mouth with her right hand, elbow on her desk. Her eyes slowly closed . Tears began to run down her cheeks.
    Karen gave her a few moments to recover.
    Humphries leaned back, opened a drawer, and took out a box of tissues. She grabbed a handful and pressed them to her eyes.
    “I’m sorry,” Karen said. “I understand how upsetting it is, but we need to ask a few questions right now.”
    Humphries blew her nose and straightened abruptly. “Of course. Forgive me. It’s the very last thing I expected you to come in and tell me. I heard the report on the news this morning, and Miss Olsen has been absent without an explanation since Monday, and we’ve been trying to reach her, but never in a million years would I have put the two things together. It’s inconceivable. Completely horrible.”
    “How well did you know Theresa?”
    “Not very well. She was young and inexperienced, but she was completely relaxed in the classroom. A natural. She was quiet, sweet, and had a very pleasant disposition. She was going to make an excellent teacher. The children loved her. They’ll be devastated when the news comes out. We’ll have to arrange for counseling right away.” She picked up a pen and wrote it down on a lined pad next to her telephone.
    Horvath turned a page in his notebook. “We understand she was friends with another teacher here . Melanie?”
    “ Melanie Peters teaches Grade Four, but I don’t know if she was friends with Theresa. I don’t know either of them that well.”
    “Is Peters here today? Could we talk to her?”
    Humphries picked up the phone, the pen still jutting from between her fingers, and spoke to her secretary. As soon as she replaced the receiver, they heard the page go out over the public address system.
    “Were there any reports of Theresa having problems with anyone?” Karen asked. “Male teachers here, or men coming onto school property to see her? Boyfriends, anything like that?”
    Humphries shook her head. “Not at all.”
    “I saw cameras at the front and rear,” Karen said. “I take it that you could supply us with video footage going back a week if we got a warrant for it.”
    “In response to a court order, yes, we could do that.” She made another note on the pad, then shot a look at Karen. “Do I need to be worried? Is there a security problem I need to know about?”
    “Not that we’re aware of,” Karen replied. “We’re just trying to cover all the bases.”
    “Well, I need to cover the bases, too,” Humphries shot back. “As you saw, we haven’t yet converted to a buzz-in door system, which is currently only a priority in middle and high schools in this city, nor do we have an SRO assigned to us, for the same